The Effect of Prestimulation on Milking Characteristics in Simmental, Holstein-Friesian and Brown Swiss Cow Breed
Summary Th e objective of this study was to determine the diff erences in milking characteristics between Simmental, Holstein-Friesian and Brown Swiss cow breed, when 0, 30 or 60 s of prestimulation was applied. Th e experiment was conducted on the commercial farm Kovažik, where 12 cows (four cows per breed) were randomly assigned to three prestimulation treatments. Each treatment was performed during two days and followed by a one day of rest. Milking characteristics (main milking phase duration, milking time, milk yield, peak fl ow rate and average fl ow rate) were measured. Additionally, bimodality of milk fl ow curves was evaluated. Th e results of this experiment show that the highest number of bimodal curves was observed in the treatment without prestimulation. Prestimulation duration did not infl uence observed milking characteristics. However, treatment without prestimulation had numerically the largest number of bimodal curves, longest duration of main milking phase and total milking time with the lowest peak and average fl ow rate. Milk yield was the highest in Holstein-Friesian breed. Th e highest peak and average fl ow rate with the shortest main milking phase duration and total milking time was observed in Brown-Swiss breed. Breed specifi c premilking teat preparation routine should be performed to remove highest milk yield in shortest time.